Window-screen.



No. 698,926. Patented Apr. 29, I902.

. R. B. FOWLER.

WINDOW SCREEN.

' A pIication filed Dec; 24, 1900.

(No Model.)

THE NORRIS PETERS co. Pnc'ro-|. 1Tuo.,wnsmnmon, 04 c.

UNITED STATES RUFUS l3. FOVLER, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIE A. DODGE AND LEWIS H. DODGE, OF KEENE, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

SCREEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 698,926, dated April 29, 1902. 7

Application filed December 24, 1900. Serial No. 40,854. (No model.

T at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RUFUS B. FOWLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of WVorcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Window-Screens, of which the following is a specification, ac-

companiedby drawings forming a part of the same, in which- Figure 1 represents an inside elevation of a window-casing containing a screen embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View on line 2 2, Fig.1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of onecorner of a windowscreen embodying my invention, and Fig. at is a sectional view of the same on line 4 4, Fig. 3.

Similar reference-figures refer to similar partsin the difierent views. 7

My present inventionrelates to a windowscreen adapted to be held in a vertical track within the window-casing and to be vertically adjusted therein in order that the screen may be used either at the top or bottom or held midway the window, as desired, and my invention relates especially to those screens which are locked in position on ways by means of yielding latches or springs arranged to produce sufficient frictional resistance against the ways to support the weight of the screen.

My invention consists in the novel construction of the yielding latchesor springs and in the method of attaching the same to the sides of the screen, whereby I reduce theoost of the screen, provide a secure attachment of the latch to the body of the screen, and hide the most of the latch from view when the screen is in position.

Referring to the drawings, 1 denotes a window casing, having longitudinal strips or moldings 2 fastened to the inside thereof to form ways for the screen 3, of the usual rectangular form, comprising sides 4'5 and upper and lower rails 6 7, supporting the wirecloth 8. The ways 2 2 are L-shaped in their cross-section, forming ledges 9, and the sides 4 5 of the screen are rabbeted at 10 to receive the ways 2, so that when the screen is placed in position it will bear against the outer sides of the ways 2 with spaces 11 and 12 in order to permit a slight lateral movement of the screen. The screen is held in position against the ways 2 by means of the elastic latches or springs 13, which overlap the ledges 0 of the ways. Each side of the screen is preferably provided with a pair of latches, one being placed near the upper rail and the other near the bottom rail of the screen. The latches, which are duplicates of each other, consist of a single piece of wire preferably having one end bent to form a spur or prong 1-1, adapted to be driven into the side of the screen, although the spur or prong 14 may be'omitted, and the section adjacent the prong l lis curved at 15 to correspond with the arc of a circle of shortradius,and the curved section isinserted A in a narrow slot consisting of akerf 16, formed by presenting the side of the screen to a curved saw, the radius of which equals the radius of the curved section 15 of the latch. From the curved section 15 the wire extends in a straight section 17 obliquely outward to the point 18, where it is again slightly bent to form a straight, section 19, parallel with the side of the screen.

At 20 the wire is bent at right angles to form a straight stem 21, which passes through an elongated opening 22 in the side of the screen and. terminates in a hook or eye 23.

When the screen is in position, that portion of the latch projecting from the rabbeted 8o edge 4 of the screen extends over the ledge 9, with the section 19 of the latch bearing against the surface 25 of the ways, with the frictional resistance produced by the tension of the latch, sufiicient'to support the weight of the screen at any posit-ion along the ways 2.

The yielding latches 13 are easily and cheaply made, and they are firmly attached to the sides of the screen without the employment of screws or nails. The kerf 16 is made sufficiently narrow to pinch the sides of the latch and hold it firmly in position. The latch is inserted in the kerf by means of a thin driving iron or blade, having its end curved to fit the curvature of the section 15, 5 thereby enabling the curved section 15 to be securely seated against the curved bottom of the kerf 16. The axis of the straight section 17 if extended across the curved section 15 would form the chord of a portion of the loo curved section 15, as represented by the broken line 27. The curved section 15 serves to holdthe latch from rockingabout the axis of the section 17, and it is also pinched suiticiently in the kerf 16 to hold the latch from longitudinal movement even if the prong 14: were omitted. The holes 22 are elongated to allow the looped ends 23 of the latches to pass, and the point of the prong 14 entering the side of the screen serves to hold the latch from longitudinal movement and prevent the stem 21 from being moved from the center of the opening 22 while the latch is being driven into the kerf 16.

What I claim'as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination with the frame of a window-screen provided with a slot 16 in its side having a curved bottom, of a yielding latch consisting of a piece of wire provided with a bearing-surface 19 adapted to bear against the window-casing, an oblique elastic section 17, and a section curved to fit the curved bottom of the slot 16, said curved section being pressed into and pinched between the sides of said slot, whereby said latch is rigidly attached to said frame, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the frame or window-screen having a slot in its side, of a yielding latch consisting of a piece of Wire provided with a section 19 adapted to bear against the window-casing, an oblique elastic section 17, a curved section 15 entering said slot and being pinched between its sides, whereby said latch is firmly attached to said frame and held from rocking therein, and a bent prong at the end of said curved section entering the frame, whereby said latch is held from longitudinal movement, substantially as described.

3. The combination with the frame of a window-screen having a slot in its side of a yielding latch formed from a single piece of wire and having a section 15 curved in the arc of a circle with said curved section pinched between the side walls of said slot, whereby said latch is firmly attached to said frame, a section 17 extending obliquely from the frame, a section 19 parallel with the side of the frame and forming a bearing-surface and a stem 21 at right angles to said bearing-surface, snbstantially as described.

Dated this 21st day of December, 1900.

RUFUS B. FOWLER.

Witnesses:

HENRYWooD FOWLER, FLORENCE 0. 000K. 

